Upon first signing up for The Traitors, the now legendary Amanda Lovett jokes she'd just been hoping for some 'free breakfast, free food, and for a bit of peace from the kids'. She could never have imagined the 'immense' public reaction to the show, which launched the Swansea-based estate agent as a household name and fashion icon.
Amanda, 55, looked striking in scarlet while attending the recent inaugural Gaydio awards in Manchester, a star-studded event held to celebrate extraordinary accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Speaking with the Mirror on the red carpet, Amanda appeared to be in her element as she opened up about her journey with The Traitors, the cast members' WhatsApp group, and becoming a fan favourite as a proudly confident 50-plus woman.
Amanda admits that her family did have their doubts about her application at first, and would repeatedly ask her 'are you sure mum?'. At the time of filming, she was 54, navigating an era when reality shows are more often associated with twentysomethings just starting out in life.
For Amanda however, the wisdom and experience that comes with age is a superpower, not a hindrance, and she'd love to see more 50 plus women on TV going forward.
She said: "I just felt, as a 50 plus woman, why not? Why not go in there? It just goes to show that 50 plus women do go under the radar. Your mums, your work colleagues, Everybody's packaged up in little boxes.
"Although we've made our nest, we've made our careers, we're where we are, b***** hell, at that point we've got so much more to give because we're more confident than we've ever been in life!"
Emphasising her fierce support for women in her age group, she continued: "How many plus 50s do we work with? Would you ever think of going to them and asking their advice? And we're the ones that have got all the life skills! We've got all the experience.
"But everyone thinks, 'they haven't got much to say, let's put them in a box, let's put them under the table, you know? Go 50 plus women! We might be menopausal but we have more life skills to give than anyone."
The self-professed 'Glam-ma' says she can't believe how the show has 'blown up', with a family-friendly, cross-generational appeal Amanda notes is often all too rare nowadays.
Despite all the onscreen backstabbing however, Amanda insists there's 'no ill feeling' between the former castmates, many of whom stay in touch via a big WhatsApp group.
Amanda revealed: "There is a WhatsApp group but with 22 people in it, it can be hard to keep up. We've all got busy lives so we can't all be always involved in the WhatsApp group.
"I would say that there's a section of us that are very close, but there's no ill feeling between any of us at all because it's a game that we played and because everyone played it to their true game plan."
Of course, the show wouldn't have been what it was without presenter Claudia Winkleman, whose genuine enthusiasm for the show shone through at every nailbiting twist and turn.
Praising the host as 'a beautiful soul', Amanda said: "She's such a doll. She's very attractive on TV, but she's so beautiful inside and out. There's one instance where we weren't allowed to leave the round table, and Andrea had a bit of anxiety going on when people were asking her questions.
"And Claudia stopped the round table, she stopped it. She took her to one side, started dancing with her, and asked her if she was okay. She's absolutely a beautiful soul."
You can catch up with all episodes of The Traitors on BBC iPlayer.
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